Wall With Reset Tombstones On South Side Of Churchyard

The wall with reset tombstones on the south side of the churchyard at Saint Mary's Church in Saffron Walden dates from around 1800. It is constructed of red brick, measuring 125 meters long and approximately 2 meters high. The wall features Flemish bond with a battered and dentilled coping, topped with a rounded brick edge. The eastern section rises in three steps from Church Lane, following the natural slope of the ground. Some parts of the wall have been repaired and lack upper decoration.

Tombstones have been reset against the northern side of the churchyard wall, with the best-preserved examples located east of Church Lane. Notable among these is a tombstone for Jonathan Parker, described as an "ingenious needy artisan," dated 1764, which displays craftsmen's tools and was restored in 1931. There are also three similar tombstones for John Liverett (1783), Robert Liverett (1801), and Thomas Gardner (1802), each featuring a winged cherub head supported by a lunate reeded band within a decorated rectangular frame, topped with crescentic foliage.

Several other tombstones, now illegible, are of 18th-century design, showcasing cherubs' heads, foliage, and volutes. One notable tombstone for William Winstanley, dated 1750, includes a skull and steeply inclined volutes. The tombstones at the western end of the wall are more weathered but include inscriptions for John Waite (1768), featuring cherubs and scrolls, and Elizabeth Erswell (1826).